STUDIOS has been appointed to renovate this highly prominent haussmannian building, with retail running under the arcades at street level, to its key place in the economic life of Central Paris.

One of the key goals of the project was to revive the exceptional exterior envelope and bring it up to the required security standards. The renovation of the façades strengthens and preserves the structural elements and decorations (cornices, balustrades, etc.) restoring them to their original splendour.

Another key objective was to improve the functionality and visual comfort of the building, including the creation of a glass canopy over a significant part of the interior courtyard. Particular attention has been paid to the redevelopment of the substructure (ground floor and basement levels).

The project is structured around three main considerations:

• Heritage, for which a historical study was conducted
• Economic
• Ecology and environment: the team reused the existing qualitative elements as much as possible and favoured energy-efficient and non-polluting equipment and materials.